Google expands the ‘right to be forgotten’, but Australia doesn’t need it
Search engines play an indispensable role in our information age. They are how we navigate the internet. Without their assistance, most of us would be lost. When access to their functionality is limited, our substantive access to information is limited. This is exactly the point behind the so-called “right to be forgotten”. The term refers […]
EFA concerned by Nikolic appointment, lack of support for encryption
EFA is concerned about yesterday’s announcement that Tasmanian MP Andrew Nikolic is to be appointed as Chair of the critical Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Mr Nikolic’s hard-line views on national security issues and his apparent disdain for civil liberties suggest that he is unlikely to bring a balanced and objective perspective to […]
Apple v FBI is ALL about the precedent
Over and over again as people keep talking about the Apple / FBI encryption stuff, I keep seeing the same line pop up. It’s something along the lines of “but the FBI needs to know what’s on that phone, so if Apple can help, why shouldn’t it.” Let’s debunk that myth. The FBI absolutely does […]
Did the FBI deliberately force Apple into a corner?
There has already been much discussion about the many issues with the DOJ’s motion to compel Apple to create a backdoor to let them brute force the passcode on Syed Farook’s iPhone. However, eagle-eyed Chris Soghoian caught something especially interesting in a footnote. Footnote 7, on page 18 details four possible ways that Apple and the […]
Clipper Chip Redux
I read the news headlines and sometimes it is hard to tell what decade we are in. Just over 20 years ago, the National Security Agency developed and tried to make standard an encryption device with a built-in backdoor called the Clipper Chip. At that point it was intended for voice communications but inevitably would […]